No I haven’t been watching reruns
of Sesame Street; though I still believe in “Big Bird” . . .
Today has been Pentecost Sunday
2013. Not only have I enjoyed the day’s significance and empowering; I got to preach!
Celebrating with and inspiring others in Pentecost as historic event and
ongoing reality.
Journeying in the Pentecost texts,
three E’s catch my attention. Not mere letters standing by themselves, but ones
commencing three words; expectation, encounter, and expansion.
Expectation
- Prior to Pentecost the disciples gathered in obedience to Jesus’ last words with an expectation of their realisation; the coming of the Spirit for mission in society (Acts 1:4-8).
- On “the Day” God is with His people in a new way, and by a definite experience. Not ecstatic experience, but obedient-rational encounter with the Spirit. God’s encountering presence empowered them for realisation. That day of Pentecost, a day of encounter, morphed into our present ongoing season of expansion of Kingdom and church in our world of multiple-societys (Acts 2:1-12).
- God’s realised presence became the “centre of their expansion” (Acts 2:41-47), the Divine presence active and expanding in mission.
In the “tradition of Pentecost”
gather with expectation to be encountered by “God the Spirit” accepting Divine encounter
naturally leads to expansion.
So what’s changed?
Nothing!
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing this John, love the simplicity of the message. Very similar to the one I heard preached for Pentacost Sunday this year at a little church at Wainui in the Akaroa Harbour ;-)
I must confess I wonder if there's a fourth 'e' here - 'empowered' - it isn't simply the encounter that changed their lives, but the empowerment of the HS living with and in each of us that fuels the passion for expansion, and enables us to carry out a role in making it happen. Without it we're running on empty, doing it in our own strength.
Hi Derek - thanks . . . Yes "E x 4" is the fuel in the ongoing process . . . Blessings John
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